This invention relates to the production of aluminum trihydroxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,733 of Keith and Cornely, issued Feb. 10, 1970, for "Method for the Production of Alumina Trihydrate Dominant in Bayerite" emphasizes a "discovery that aluminum metal of high surface area and in a very fine state of subdivision, can be reacted with water at a basic pH to yield a predominantly trihydrate alumina without the need for extensive aging." As to the high surface area and very fine state of subdivision, Keith and Cornely state that the aluminum particles used in their process should have surface area lying in the range 75 thousand to 1 million square millimeters/gram.
Others have experimented with the reaction of aluminum metal with high pressure steam. See Tremper and Gordon, "Agglomeration Effects on the Sintering of Alumina Powders Prepared by Autoclaving Aluminum Metal" in "Ceramic Processing Before Firing", Onoda and Hench, pp 153-76, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. (1978).